Universal

Flat or close-to-it pricing was almost universal in Thursday’s market, and for a change almost-imperceptible firmness prevailed instead of the mild declines that had dominated trading in the previous two days. The previous day’s screen uptick of 4.9 cents was the chief impetus for arresting the overall slide as forecasts continued to hint that the end of winter was nigh.

Houston-based Universal Property Development and Acquisition Corp. (UPDA) has entered into negotiations with EOG Resources Inc. to farm out the drilling of 13 wells on 2,700 acres it owns in the Barnett Shale in North Texas, UPDA said Tuesday.

An extended deadline for troubled Commerce Energy to close a deal selling most of its remaining gas and electric retail customer base to Universal Energy Group Ltd. (UEG) passed last Saturday without comment from the company.

Toronto-based Universal Energy Group (UEG) has decided on a total package, acquiring troubled Commerce Energy Inc., the operating subsidiary of Commerce Energy Group (CEG), for approximately US$26 million, UEG said. The deal replaces a partial acquisition the companies had originally negotiated, and ends the uncertainty that had been swirling just days before (see Daily GPI, Dec. 11).

Although Friday’s price declines were neither universal nor as severe as those on some Fridays earlier in October, Monday’s market did match up with a couple of predecessors in seeing large rebounds across the board. Gains were as small as about 35 cents, but a big majority were half a dollar or more and ran as high as a little more than 90 cents at the PG&E citygate.

Although Friday’s price declines were neither universal nor as severe as those on some Fridays earlier in October, Monday’s market did match up with a couple of predecessors in seeing large rebounds across the board. Gains were as small as about 35 cents, but a big majority were half a dollar or more and ran as high as a little more than 90 cents at the PG&E citygate.

After Monday’s almost universal double-digit increases, cashprices were on auto-pilot Tuesday, as they trended down from theprevious day’s results. Many traders said Monday’s run-up would bethis week’s high, pointing to moderating weather and the thecompletion of pipeline maintenance projects.